James Barbour

James Barbour (10 June 1775-7 June 1842) was Governor of Virginia from 3 January 1812 to 1 December 1814 (succeeding Peyton Randolph and preceding Wilson Cary Nicholas), a US Senator from 2 January 1815 to 7 March 1825 (succeeding Richard Brent and preceding John Randolph), and Secretary of War from 7 March 1825 to 23 May 1828 (succeeding John C. Calhoun and preceding Peter Buell Porter).

Biography
James Barbour was born in Barboursville, Virginia in 1775, the brother of Philip Pendleton Barbour. In 1792, he became deputy sheriff of Orange County, and he became a lawyer in 1794, and he also became the owner of a plantation and several slaves. From 1796 to 1804 and from 1807 to 1812, he served in the House of Delegates, and he served as Governor of Virginia from 1812 to 1814, as a US Senator from 1815 to 1825, and as Secretary of War from 1825 to 1828. During the War of 1812, Governor Barbour raised 10,000 soldiers and placed them under federal control, using them to defend his state from British invasion. During his time in the Senate, he changed his previous stance on economics to support James Madison's plan for a national bank; he also supported slavery. Barbour held the title of Secretary of War under President John Quincy Adams from 1825 to 1828, and, from 1828 to 1829, Barbour served as ambassador to Britain. He died in 1842.